Street Smarts

Marshall
Carter, MA ’76, leans forward as he busily
sketches a grid with the word “technology” on
one axis, and “policy” on the other. As he completes
the sketch, he labels the grid’s four squares
with the words “ready” and “not ready” along
each axis. Pointing to the grid with his pen,
he explains that U.S. society is poised to accept
some ideas but not others. Hybrid cars, for example,
fall into the ready box on both axes. Stem cell
research, in contrast, is in the ready box technologically
but not politically.

Carter’s eagerness to demonstrate the
convergence of policy and technology is contagious.
It reveals his keen intelligence and ardent
interest in policy making and its influence
on technology—in fact, Carter may have
been a policy wonk before the term became popular.
Carter’s passion for both fields makes
him well suited for his current position as
chairman of the New York Stock Exchange.

A former student of technology and public
policy, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, a
Marine Corps officer, and a leader in the banking
industry, Carter was appointed to the prestigious
post in April 2005. As chairman, he has several
key roles: He manages the Board of Directors
and serves as a liaison between the board and
the CEO, engages in strategic planning, and
assists with outside constituencies, such as
Congress and the Securities Exchange Commission.

Always on the cutting edge of technology
himself, Carter’s goals for the Exchange include
enhancing its capacity for electronic trading
and offering a broader range of products beyond
traditional stocks and bonds. “The New
York Stock Exchange is the largest single pool
of capital in the world, and this pool must
be preserved to ensure the competitiveness
of the United States,” he points out.
The Exchange’s planned merger with a
smaller company called Archipelago, in operation
since 1997, may help. Archipelago currently
owns the Pacific Stock Exchange, and the small
company is well versed in electronic trading,
a strength it will bring to the more traditional
NYSE.

Carter graduated from the U.S. Military Academy
at West Point in 1962 with a bachelor’s
degree in military science. He then served
as a Marine Corps officer for 14 years, completing
two tours in Vietnam and receiving a Purple
Heart, the Navy Cross, and the Bronze Star
for acts of bravery and heroism. In between
his two tours of duty, he received a master’s
degree in operations research and systems analysis
from the Naval Postgraduate School.

Stationed at the Pentagon after his second
tour of duty in Vietnam, Carter decided in
the late 1970s to return to school, attending
GW at night on the GI Bill. The unique master’s
program he chose, which combined science, technology,
and public policy, had obvious appeal for him.
GW’s Elliott School of International
Affairs still offers the program, which has
been renamed the Master of Arts in International
Science and Technology Policy.

John Logsdon, currently the head of GW’s
Space Policy Institute at the Elliott School
and a professor of political science and international
affairs, remembers Carter from his student
days. “Even as a young graduate student,
Carter was marked for success,” Logsdon
recalls. “He stood out among the other
students.”

Carter remembers being impressed with his
GW professors, especially Logsdon, whose combination
of book smarts and real-world experience made
his classes invaluable. “Taking the time
to attend classes at GW really paid off in
my future,” he says.

So has the many years he spent in the banking
industry, including 15 years as a senior vice
president at Chase Manhattan Bank and, most
recently, nine years as chairman and CEO of
State Street Bank and Trust Co. Officially
retired from the banking industry since 2001,
Carter manages to keep busy. Aside from his
work with the NYSE, he is an accomplished pilot
who enjoys soaring over New England in his
seaplane. He also golfs and enjoys movies: “Anything
with Joan Allen—she is a terrific actress,” he
says. As if all that is not enough, Carter
also lectures at MIT’s Sloan School of
Management and was a fellow at Harvard University’s
Kennedy School of Government Center for Public
Leadership from 2001 to 2005.

Despite his tremendous professional accomplishments,
Carter takes the most pride in his work with
the Boston Medical Center. Dedicated philanthropists,
Carter and his wife, Missy, are champions of
health care for inner-city residents. Carter
serves as chairman of the board at the hospital,
a position he has held for the past five years.

When asked what prompted him to become so
involved, Carter smiles. “My wife and
I decided we were more interested in social
justice than social climbing.”

It is a fitting comment from a man whose
depth of character aligns with his depth of
cutting-edge knowledge.